ISL PRESS RELEASE : An early goal from the boots of caretaker coach and captain Robbie Keane helped ATK defeat North East United FC 1-0 in their concluding league clash of the Hero Indian Super League and avoid the embarrassment of finishing at the bottom at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata, on Sunday.

Having struggled to replicate the good performance of the previous seasons, two-times champions ATK needed a win to avoid a bottom-place finish, and Keane's well-taken goal in the 10th minute ensured that. As for NEUFC, it was yet another night where things could have gone their way.

After a sluggish start to the game, ATK went ahead with the first good bit of play in the game. In the 10th minute, Conor Thomas put in a delightful ball over the top of the defenders to pick up Robbie Keane, who brought it down before poking it past goalkeeper TP Rehenesh.

Shortly after going a goal down, North-East had the ball in the back of the net courtesy John Mosquera but it was ruled offside. North-East kept piling on the pressure on ATK for most part of the first phase of play. In the 36th minute, Mosquera should have put the visitors on level terms after being put through on goal by Helio Pinto. The Colombian forward, however, delayed taking his shot, giving goalkeeper Soram Poirei an opportunity to block his effort.

In the second half, both sides made a slow start. At the hour mark, ATK came close to doubling their lead after Sibongakonke Mbatha made a darting run inside the North-East penalty box, but his effort went just wide of the goal. At the other end, the visitors failed to create the chances they had managed to do in the first half.

In the dying moments of the game, North-East close again. Marcinho's 87th-minute freekick looked destined to be headed in by Danilo Lopez but the forward somehow failed to connect.

ISL MEDIA RELAEASE : FC Goa scored a thumping 5-1 victory against defending champions ATK at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. Sergio Juste, Ferran Corominas and Mark Sifneos scored a goal each along with Manuel Lanzarote's double as the Gaurs emerged strong contenders for the Hero Indian Super League playoff spots. Robbie Keane scored for ATK.

Goa are now 4th with 27 points, ahead of Jamshedpur who have 26. The two teams face off on 4 March in what will be a decisive match. With Goa notching up the win, Kerala Blasters are out of the the contention for playoff. The JFC vs FC Goa match on Sunday will decide the forth spot. A win here will pave way for either of the team to qualify, however Goa could make it with a draw as well.

ATK had made a good start but Goa took the lead when Hugo Boumous' corner was met by Juste's header. That opened the floodgates and five minutes later, Soram Poirei's save from Mandar Rao Dessai's curling effort went into the path of Lanzarote, who scored with a neat finish.

Goa tripled their lead soon after. Pronoy Halder played a glorious diagonal ball to Lanzarote who brought it down expertly, zipped past Ashutosh Mehta and found the far corner with a sweet shot. Corominas had a chance to score within minutes but the cross from Narayan Das was just over his leap. He eventually scored in the second half from a clever freekick to make it 4-0.

ATK had some chances to score scattered throughout the 90 minutes. First Sibongakonke Mbatha blazed over at the half-time mark and then Keane had two chances in quick succession in the second period. His first was a typically instinctive attempt to finish from a volley played at a tight angle and the second was a high flick which almost went in. When he finally scored, it was after dancing past two defenders to get a consolation from a deflection which went in off the post.

Sifneos capitalised on a poor header backwards from ATK centre-back Anwar Ali, and finished with full marks as he raced away one-on-one. Lanzarote, Boumous and Sifneos combined in the dying seconds, making a mockery of ATK's defence, but added to the comedy when they couldn't finish. This was the third time FC Goa have scored five goals in a match this Hero ISL.

ISL PRESS RELEASE : Delhi Dynamos FC provided the Hero Indian Super League with its biggest entertaining game as they staged a marvellous recovery to defeat defending champions ATK 4-3 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, on Saturday.

Delhi Dynamos took the lead in the 23rd minute through captain Kalu Uche but ATK struck back to enjoy a 3-1 advantage with goals from debutant Sibongakonke Mbatha (37') and a brace from star striker Robbie Keane (52' and 58'). There was more than half an hour to be played and Delhi stunned those watching with quick goals from Kalu Uche (69'), Seityasen Singh (71') and finally the winner from Matias Mirabaje (90+2').

The winner from Mirabaje came in the second minute of stoppage time as Delhi, who are already out of the race, proved their worth. The win means Delhi have now jumped above ATK in eighth position with 15 points from 16 matches. Delhi have picked up more than half of their points from the last four matches where they have remained unbeaten.

The misery for ATK and interim chief coach Ashley Westwood continues. ATK have not won a single game since the departure of Teddy Sheringham and Westwood saw his team losing five of the last six matches.

The stunning result for Delhi and the change in fortunes on Saturday overshadowed some excellent performances from ATK. Star striker Robbie Keane scored two goals. The first was a stunning free-kick and the second an opportunistic strike after the goalkeeper had erred with his collection.

ATKs' opening goal came from debutant Sibongakonke Mbatha, who mesmerised everyone with some brilliant play on the flanks. He was fortunate for the opening goal since it deflected of a defender and sailed into the nets but for most part of the match Sibongakonke was a treat to watch as he teamed up with Keane.

In the end, even those dazzling performances were not enough for ATK to stop its free-fall. Delhi, who took the lead in the 23rd minute through captain Uche, were fortunate as ATK defender Anwar Ali’s interception fell kindly for Uche and the man in-form made no mistake.

The hosts, however, were jolted when ATK equalised and Keane struck twice to give them a 3-1 advantage in the 58th minute but nobody had a clue what was in store for the rest of the match. Delhi scored two goals in as many minutes between 69th and 71st and then Mirabaje got them the goal they deserved in the dying minutes to put the game to a memorable end.

ISL PRESS RELEASE : Mumbai City FC registered a 2-1 win over ATK in the Hero Indian Super League clash at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata on Sunday to stay in the hunt for a place in the playoffs. Alexandre Guimarães side needed all three points from the game and his side came up with the goods. While the win didn't help Mumbai City FC improve their position in the league table but it kept their hopes alive. The Islanders now have 20 points from 15 games, and still, have a chance of making it into the top four.

After a sluggish start to the game, Marcio Rozario brought the game to life with a spectacular freekick goal at the half-hour mark to give Mumbai City FC the lead. Bipin Singh then equalised for Ashley Westwood's side early in the second half but the visitors regained their lead minutes later through Rafa Jorda.

ATK dominated the early exchanges in the game but Anwar Ali's needless push on Rafa Jordan on the edge of his own box provided Rozario the opportunity to have a strike on goal, and he punished ATK for it. The midfielder curled the ball into the top right-hand corner of the goal despite goalkeeper Soram Poirie's best efforts.

The visitors defended their lead well till the halftime but after the restart, it didn't take ATK much time to get back into the game. Just two minutes into the second phase of play, Bipin Singh leveled the scoreline for the home side. The goal came after a spell of good play by ATK in the opposition half. Conor Thomas, who up till then had a quiet night picked up Singh with a delightful defense-splitting pass and he put the ball through MCFC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh's legs and into the goal.

It looked Mumbai City FC will have to go away disappointed from Kolkata but just barely minutes after having conceded, Mumbai City was celebrating at the other end. In the 52nd minute, a corner from the left was partially cleared by ATK defense. Sanju Pradhan put the ball back into the danger area and Rafa Jorda was on hand for Mumbai City FC to glance the ball into far corner of the goal.

ISL PRESS RELEASE : Bulgarian football legend Dimitar Berbatov scored his first goal in the Hero Indian Super League for Kerala Blasters FC but it counted for little in the end as the visitors were held 2-2 by ATK at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata, on Thursday.

Kerala Blasters twice took the lead, first through Gudjon Baldvinsson (33 minutes) and then through Dimitar Berbatov (55 minutes) but goals from Ryan Taylor (38 minutes) and Tom Thorpe (75 minutes) helped cancel the leads.

The draw helped ATK arrest their four losses in a row and secured the first point for interim coach Ashley Westwood but doesn’t help their chances of qualification. ATK now have 13 points from 14 matches and have seen their chances of qualification go up in smoke.

Kerala Blasters will also be disappointed with the point. They have temporarily displaced FC Goa from the sixth spot with 21 points compared to FC Goa’s 20, but have played three extra matches.

The clash between last year’s finalists, now struggling in this edition of the Hero ISL, started tentatively and sprang to life only towards the later half of the first 45 minutes. Kerala Blasters were the first to break the deadlock in the 33rd minute as Baldvinsson found the mark.

A good cross in the danger zone from Prasanth saw Baldvinsson jump highest and head towards goal where it hit the shoulder of ATK defender Jordi Montel and sailed past the goalkeeper.

ATK needed five minutes to get on level scores as they capitalised on a defensive lapse. Milan Singh tried to play the ball forward but it was intercepted by Taylor. He then took his time and picked his spot as the ball deflected off Lalruatthara and sailed past Kerala goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury.

The teams were tied 1-1 at half time and Kerala once again took the lead when play resumed in the second session. It was former Manchester United forward Berbatov who gave them the lead with his first goal of the season. Jackichand Singh’s free-kick was flicked on by Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and fell to Berbatov on top of the box. The Bulgarian sharpshooter connected neatly and picked the bottom left corner of the goal for a classy finish.

It seemed like Berbatov’s goal would be enough for Kerala Blasters but ATK hit back with the equaliser in the 74th minute after going close on a couple of occasions. Taylor's corner was first cleared by the Kerala defence but the ball traveled back to the flank where Taylor sent in another measured cross which Thorpe did well to connect from inside a crowded goalmouth.

In the end, ATK managed to hold on to that draw and won their first point in five matches, while Kerala were left to rue a final chance in the final minute when Thorpe cleared Baldvinsson’s attempt on the goalline.

90+5': FULL TIME SCORE: ATK 0-2 BENGALURU FC
87': Ausotosh Mehta's long ranger following a forward pass from the right saved by Gurpit brilliantly.
82': GOAL ..... Bengaluru FC increased the lead. Miku covered a long space after receiving a forward pass from his own half. Miku beat Jordi Figueras in speed and beat Debjit.
80': Miku was fouled by Sankar deep inside the ATK half. Edu Gracia's free kick missed the target by a whisker.
71': Miku's push saved from the goal line by Ausotosh Mehta after Debjit failed to collect a ball. The ball rolled down to Miku , but his push was saved.
68': RED CARD to Rahul Bheke .... his second yellow. He fouled Jayesh Rane dangerously. Bengaluru FC are down to ten men.
68': Easy chance wasted by Jayesh Rane ........ he failed to touch a cross pass from Ausotosh from the right as the ball was cleared by Rahul.
66': YELLOW CARD to Juanan he tackel Martin Paterson from behind.
62': YELLOW CARD to Rahul Bheke for rough play against Keegan Pereira.
56': Chance for ATK .... Martin Patterson's shot partially saved by Gurpit following a forward pass by Robie Kean. Johnson cleared the ball finally.
55': Chance for Bengaluru FC .... Miku's header missed the target following a cross pass from the left by Chetri.
50': After a win against ATK at home, Bengaluru FC are leading by a goal at Kolkata in the second round.
45+1': HALF TIME SCORE: ATK 0-1 BENGALURU FC
37': A brilliant save by Gurpit.... he dives towards his right and saved a powerful long ranger from Ryan Taylor.
32': Chance wasted by ATK......Jayesh Rane's header hit the post following a cross pass from Bipin from the right. The ball defected of Johnson and came to Rane who was a bit unlucky to convert.
26': Bengaluru FC had a series of attack in the last five minutes utilising the right flank but ATK central defense was quite alert after the initial setback.
21': A good cross pass from the right by Udanta but cleared by Juanan out of the danger zone
18': Miku's grounder following a pass from Chetri was partially saved by Debjit. The ball was finally cleared out of the danger zone by Figuerues.
14': A prompt attack by Bipin through the right flank. His cross pass cleared safely by Johnson as no ATK forward could reach the ball.
3': GOAL .......... A same side goal by Jordi Figueras at the early stages of the match. Figueras tried to clear a cross pass from Udanta Singh from the right but places the ball in his own goal.

ISL PRESS RELEASE : A penalty from Trindade Goncalves was enough to hand Jamshedpur FC an important 1-0 win over ATK at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata, on Sunday.

Jamshedpur FC are now locked on 19 points with fourth placed FC Goa on the Hero Indian Super league points table. With just 12 points from 12 matches, twice champions ATK are now staring at an early exit from the ISL.

After a lacklustre first half which saw both teams unable to create chances going forward, the game burst to life after the restart. Just three minutes into the second half, Jerry Mawihmingthanga found Trindade in the box after some neat play down the right wing but the Brazilian’s shot struck the post.

Two minutes later, Jamshedpur had a big penalty shout after ATK centre back Jordi Figueras brought down Trindade inside the box. The referee, however, saw nothing wrong and let the game go on. Jamshedpur FC and Trindade, however, kept knocking on ATK's door.

ISL PRESS RELEASE : Change in coach brought no change in fortunes for ATK as the defending champions succumbed to Chennaiyin FC 1-2 in the Hero Indian Super League clash at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata, on Thursday.

The departure of Teddy Sheringham meant technical director Ashley Westwood was handed charge as interim chief coach. The man who took Bengaluru FC to the top of Indian football in the I-League and Federation Cup started his ISL career on a losing note, despite his team surging ahead through debutant Martin Paterson in the 44th minute.

Chennaiyin FC struck back in the second session as Mailson Alves scored his first ever goal in the ISL to bring Chennaiyin on level terms in the 51st minute and then Jeje Lalpekhlua scored his seventh goal of the season to give visitors all three points in the 64th minute.

The victory took Chennaiyin FC to the top of the table, jumping two places with 23 points from 12 matches. ATK are still not out of the race but with just 12 points from 11 matches, they have left themselves with too much to do for the rest of their campaign.

ATK interim coach Ashley Westwood tried to inject freshness into the team. He left Zequinha on the bench for the first time in this campaign. That Zequinha was needed in the first half itself because Ryan Taylor was injured, and Zequinha got injured in the second session tossed up home team’s plans.

Expectedly, both teams played safe at the start and hardly took any risk. Both tried their luck from a distance and it was not until the 35th minute that any of the team had a shot on goal. It were Chennaiyin FC who tested the rival goalkeeper with attempts but Debjit Majumder didn’t have to do much when Raphael Augusto and Anirudh Thapa tried to break the deadlock.

The deadlock was broken in the 44th minute but it was ATK who got the first success, despite Chennaiyin FC doing most of the attacking. Debutant Martin Paterson scored for ATK as he headed Paterson’s cross which goalkeeper Karanjit Singh saved but the rebound struck Paterson and hurried into the goal. It was the 150th goal of the league this season.

Chennaiyin FC got their rewards in the second session. Anirudh Thapa did well to float a corner-kick into the middle and an unmarked Alves headed it past the goalkeeper into the back of the net. Chennaiyin’s winner came through a lucky Jeje as he benefitted most when Inigo Calderon played the ball towards the near post and goalkeeper Debjit Majumder palmed it onto Jeje!.